Thrifted Thursday- Jewelry Swap

Today, we're going to talk about a really fun thing we did a while back- a jewelry swap! You can do this with pretty much anything- jewelry, purses, clothing, shoes, scarves, etc. We just did jewelry because jewelry is pretty easy to mail when you live so far apart.


How it worked was this: M picked out jewelry she didn't wear anymore and gave it to J... J picked out jewelry she didn't wear anymore and gave it to M.. simple, right? It was fun, because we both like the other's tastes, we got to clean out our jewelry boxes, aaaannnnddd we got FREE jewelry!! Hmmm... it might be time for another swap.... ;)


You could do this with larger groups of friends, and make it whatever you wanted. You could add as many stipulations or as few as you want... although, we wouldn't add TOO many- then it wouldn't be any fun! We just gave each other however many pieces we ended up cleaning out, but if you were planning this for a larger group of people, you could just say that you may only take home as many things as you came with.


However you chose to do it, it's a great way to try new things for free. And free is the best price of all! :)


Here are some of the pieces that we swapped:

Put a Little YeeHaw in Your Step

Who: J

When: 6/20/12

Where: Midweek service at church

What: *Brown top- Cato's *Turquoise tank- Target *Belt- gift from sister *Skirt- made by me *Boots- Ariat *Purse- Coach, gift from N *Necklace- gift from N from Afghanistan

I'm not sure why, but for the last couple of weeks, I've been drawn to adding little bits of western "flair" to my outfits. For this outfit, I decided that wearing cowboy boots in 105 degree heat was a good idea... Oh well, the church has air conditioning... 

I have some other outfits that I added some "westerness" to that I'll have to post later. What do you wear when you're feeling a little cowgirl-y? Or is it only me that has these phases?

P.S. Don't forget to check back tomorrow for Thrifted Thursday!!

Two Beautiful

Who: M

When: 5/8/12

Where: Bus route and Bible study

What: My outfit- *Red skirt-H&M, $10 *Black shirt-Old Navy, $7 *Shoes-Mexican catalog *Necklace and earrings-dollar jewelry store
Her outfit- *White shirt-thrifted, $2 *Tan skirt-gift *Shoes-street market, $1.50 *Tan sweater-gift

 I often take a picture with my photographer and Montse (the other person featured today) is often my photographer. On this particular day, I thought that she looked super cute in her nuetral colors, so I had her pose for her photo also. She was not the most willing subject, but she complied. A lot of the clothes that I have featured as "borrowed" I borrow from her. She was one of the first people I met when I came to Mexico almost 2 years ago. Since that time, she has been a source of friendship, laughter, and on occasion, worry and tears. But I must say, many more good times than bad!! :) 

About the outfit, I just wanted to mention one thing...The skirt I am wearing is one of my favorites. When I saw it the first time I knew I wanted it, but I did not want to pay $25 for it!! So I opted to wait, and my waiting paid off!! I got the skirt for less than half price about a month later! This is a good strategy to use, but at times it has back-fired on me when the items sold out before I had a chance to purchase them...

Space Cadet

Who: J

When: 6/16/12

Where: New Mexico Museum of Space History

What: *Purple tee- Old Navy *Denim skirt- Old Navy *Shoes- Walmart *Vest- made from t-shirt using this tutorial (super, super easy!!) *Necklace- Lisa Leonard designs

Some friends of ours from church invited us to go to the New Mexico Museum of Space History in  Alamogordo with them- it was so much fun! There were a TON of exhibits and lots of information, all presented in an interesting way. I think N really enjoyed it, too, which is always a plus since I feel like I drag him to "my kind" of stuff way too much (antique stores, thrift stores, stores in general...). 


While I was doing "research" on Pinterest, I found a tutorial on how to make a vest by cutting up a tee (link above). So, of course, I HAD to try it! I love how it turned out! Very comfy, and a nice, light, flowy layer for summer. This vest actually works pretty well as a scarf, too (I'll post those pictures another day). I even bought another tshirt at Goodwill specifically to cut up and use to make a vest- I'll post pictures of that when I get it done!

Denim Day

Who: M

When: 5/30/12

Where: folding, sealing, stamping letters...great fun!!!

What: *Denim skirt-Cato's, $7 *Pink shirt-thrifted *Undershirt-China :) *Earrings-gift shop, $5 *Shoes-Festival of October, $10

This day was a break from my normal routine. I usually head straight to the Murillo's house after school, but on this day I was able to go home, change, eat, and then head over there. Also, I brought along 5 girls to make my work load easier...In about 5 hours, we assembled almost 2,000 letters including labels and sealing them! It was pretty awesome! But back to my outfit, I seldom get to wear denim, so I was excited for a chance to don my casuals! :) I think my new favorite color to put with EVERYTHING is turquoise! It is a fun color and matches just about everything! Well, at least I think it does...lol

Thrifted Thursday- Here's the Dealio, Yo

Ok, ok, I know the title is a little (a lot) cheesy, but I couldn't help myself! I'm super excited about all of the great dealios, err... I mean... deals... I got at Goodwill this week! You may have noticed that I talk about Goodwill a lot more than other thrift stores, but that's just because there's one about 3 blocks from my house... I promise that I pretty much love all thrift stores equally!

I had a post about a jewelry swap that M and I did planned for this week, but it's turning out to be a bigger project than I thought, so I'm still working on it.  But, I had some specific things I was wanting to look for at a thrift store, so I decided to head over to Goodwill to see what I could find for this week's post. Here are the results:

I have big plans for all of these wonderful things!

I've been wanting to add a little more "western" flavor to my wardrobe, so the purple plaid shirt and the denim vest are for me. I found this awesome tutorial on how to make vests from t-shirts, so I snatched up the striped tee for that little project. I picked up the two blue shirts, the Star Wars videos (which we seem to be collecting for some reason... I'm not sure why we need multiple copies of these videos), and the ACU pants (for more on ACUs, read last week's Thrifted Thursday) for my husband. And the hangers... well, we just needed some more hangers. 

Everything I bought, except for the blue dress shirt, was half- off. I decided before I went into the store that, except for dress shirts and ACU's (both of which my husband is in need of right now), I wouldn't buy something unless I LOVED it AND it was half off. I have to admit, my resolve was tested... I found a really pretty coral cotton top with a silver star design and mother of pearl snaps... BUT, I stuck to my guns and put it back. There's also a straw bag with gold trim that I've been eyeing, but I'm not going to pay $10 for a USED Victoria Secret brand bag... I'll have to keep an eye on it to see if it goes on sale. 

There you have it- my Goodwill treasures for this week. I don't usually spend so much at once, but I was looking for some things for upcoming events, and some other items that we needed. I think I did pretty well! ;)

Happy thrifting!

                                                                                                            -J

P.S. I'll keep working on the jewelry swap post- maybe next week!

As Promised

Who: J

When: 6/7/12

Where: Vista Market for some delicious fresh tortillas

What: *Black tee- store at the mall in Sierra Vista, AZ (I can't remember the name!) *Tank- Target *Skirt- maxi dress from KMart *Necklace- Beall's Outlet

A few weeks ago, I posted about trying braids out for the summer (read post here), so here, as promised, is a hairstyle incorporating a braid. It was pretty easy- just a little braiding of my bangs and 2 bobby pins, and there you have it! I'll definitely be trying more braids these next couple of months, so I'll keep you updated!

Golden Slippers

Who: M

When: 6/10/12

Where: Church and out to eat! :)

What: *Dress-Banana Republic, gift *Gold shoes-gift *Gold belt-borrowed *Purse-Nine West, gift *Necklace-Mary Kay *Bracelets-thrifted *Rings-gifts *Headband-

This was a fun outfit to put together!! Saturday night, I got home from a crazy-long day, and one of the girls from my house tells me that one of the ladies sent over some shoes if I wanted to look at them. So she brings up this bag of shoes, mostly ridiculously high heels that I would NEVER wear! But then she pulls out these gold shoes! It was love at first sight!!! Then all the girls were telling me, "You have to wear those tomorrow!" So off to my room I go to look for something to pair with my "new" shoes! So I paired them with this cute dress and borrowed belt, and the results were super good!! Well, at least I thought so!!!

Sparkle On

Who: J

When: 6/15/12

Where: Grocery shopping

What: *American flag tee- thrifted *Denim skirt- Old Navy *Flip flops- Old Navy *Scarf- gift *Silver hoops- not sure...

I'm still working on adding interest to my "summer uniform" of a denim skirt, tee shirt, and flip flops. For these pictures, I added a lightweight sparkly scarf to add a little extra sumpin sumpin ;). Also, I HAD to include a picture of my fabulous new pedicure- I even splurged and had a flower added! 

I've mentioned on here before that I've been using PicMonkey to edit my pictures. Well, they just added new borders that look like craft scissors, so of course, I had to try it out! If you haven't tried PicMonkey yet, you definitely should! There are all kinds of cool things that you can do with this program- and all for free!

Thrifted Thursday- Not Just For Girls

Today is the United States Army birthday- 237 years (I hope I did the math right on that one...)!! I'm so grateful for all the men and women over the years who have been willing to serve our country. Our nation owes our very existence to the brave soldiers of the United States Army. So I'm more than proud to wish the US Army a very happy birthday!

In the Hooah spirit of this post, I thought we'd talk about something really cool I discovered at Goodwill- ACU's!! For those of you who may not know, ACU's are the uniform that Army soldiers wear every... single... day. As you can imagine, after a while, they wear out. And those suckers are not cheap to replace! I think the tops are like $30 each and the pants are around the same (I'm speaking from memory, so I may be a little off). Our usual plan of action is to wait until N's clothing allowance comes in once a year and then buy a bunch of ACU's and hope they last. BUT... I got a brilliant idea! Since this is a military town, surely the thrift stores would be flooded with second hand gear and clothing, right? Well, guess what? They are!! This idea actually came to me a few months ago when N needed some pants for his Class A's (dress uniform)- I found some for $4! $4!!!

Back to our story of the ACU's.... I've been checking the local thrift stores every time I'm there to see if they have uniforms in my husband's size. This week, I was able to find two brand new, crisp ACU tops for $8 each- well, actually a little less since Goodwill has a military discount on Tuesdays. I was hoping to find some with the right color tag to get 50% off, but $8 compared to $30 is still a huge savings!! Now, I've got my eyes open for some gently used boots...

The moral of this story is to be open to ways to save money. When we first got married, N was totally opposed to thrifting (even though his mom and dad are awesome at finding great deals at thrift stores!) for himself. But, after the $4 Class A pants, he has been hooked. It's a great way to save money on something you HAVE to buy. 

I will admit it took a little work- I've visited a couple of different stores over a period of a couple of weeks, and I had to look through a whole rack of uniforms just to find two tops.... but it's so worth it! And who are we kidding? It's not like I hate shopping and it's a huge trial to me! ;)

I hope that this will inspire you to keep your eyes open and think about ways to save money on items that you need- AND that this proves that thrifting isn't just for blogger type girls who dress a little kooky sometimes! ;)

Happy Thrifting!

                                                                                                           -J

Beating Boredom By Borrowing

Who: M

When: Sunday in May

Where: Church

What: *Shirt-GAP $10 *Undershirt-KMart $7 *Skirt-borrowed *Nnecklace-gift from J *Earrings-prize from Mary Kay

So, does anyone else get utterly bored with their wardrobe??? So when this happens to me in the States, I just go to the thrift store and get something new, or buy some new acessories. But here in Mexico, there are no thrift stores and I have little time to shop. So how do I cure the closet blahs? I BORROW!! :) Thankfully there are several of the teenagers who are about my size! This outfit was from one of those "trying to cure my boredom" days! I really love this skirt, I am trying to convince my friend to lend it to me forever...

Neon Lite

Who: J

When: 6/9/12

Where: Walking tour of historic homes district and downtown El Paso with some friends from out of town

What: *Pink sweater- Old Navy, thrifted *Grey tank- Target *Green skirt- made from maxi dress *Necklaces- Beall's Outlet (turquoise), thrifted (orange), and a gift from a store owner in Indiana (yellow) *Sandals- Payless (or maybe Kmart??)

I have to admit- I'm not sure if I really consider this "neon" per se... maybe "neon lite"... get it? Hardy har har! But Everybody Everywear is wearing neon today, so I wanted to try to do something at least neon-ish. I'm actually a tiny little bit proud of myself for putting this together since I usually like my outfits to "match" a little more than this. But, on this day, I just picked all of the colors that I like and put them together!

We had some friends in from out of town who wanted to see the historic parts of El Paso, so I did a little quick research and off we went to Sunset Heights and then to downtown. My husband brought along our camera and got some great shots! I actually did a little more research and was able to find out a little bit more information about some of the buildings.

A beautiful home built in 1904- it's for sale!

Clock in San Jacinto Square, with the Anson Mills building in the background.
The Anson Mills building was built in the early 1900's and for a couple of years,
was the tallest building in El Paso.

The alligator statue in San Jacinto Square.

Another view of San Jacinto Square with Hotel Cortez in the background.
Hotel Cortez was built in the 1920s- President Kennedy
stayed there in 1963.

The Kress Building-  built in 1937 for the Kress five and dime store chain. The
architect designed the store to pay homage to the many different cultures
in El Paso.

The El Paso Gas Company building- when the company was using the building,
they would light up the blue flame on top, but use
different colors to indicate what the weather the next day was
supposed to be.

The Roberts Banner building, built in 1910.

The  Fairview Apartments , formerly known as the Caruso
Apartments. These were designed by Henry Trost, an architect
who designed many of the downtown buildings, and many
other buildings all over the southwest.

And some random pictures from our little field trip:

So there you go- a little history with your style this morning ;)

Head on over to Everybody Everywear to see how everybody else wore their neon!